30 Day Photo Challange

Here are last week's photos for the 30 Day Challange. I only got five of them taken for the Sat - Fri. And I seem to be trying to be creative. Oh joy, you better watch out!

• Feb18 - Hand balled cakes. Don't they just look yummy?


• Feb 19 - This is a site that is all to common in the area I live in. There was the cutest little house, probably built in the late 1950's and is now going to be two single family homes. Noticed that there is only a four foot perimiter around the lot. Notice that the lots on both sides have two houses each. Notice how they keep there equipment parked out front to hog the parking spot even though it's after 5pm. I am actually surprised that there isn't a For Sale sign yet.


• Feb 20 - This is me trying to be creative. "Hey, look a swing! I'm going to take pictures of it and put them on the internet. Then people will think I am talented."


• Feb 21 - This is Haley in the car. We just needed to take a picture and it works.
• Feb 22 - We have a hamster. The hamster ran away while we were playing with her. She took up in a hole behind the oven under the cabinets. This is the trap that finally worked in getting her out. White cheese, yellow cheese, hamster feed, a pot, a cutting board(still in the plastic wrap). The key to this trap is when the hamster comes out, don't try and grab her, move everything away from the hole so she can't run back inside. The hamster will never see the outside of her cage or rolly ball again.

I am so glad that next week is the last week for these pictures.

Surprises Small and Large

My surprises small? My Uncle Dick, that I saw up at the ranch, was down here in Redondo this weekend, so we went out to lunch with him. He asked if I saw the picture of my Dad up at the ranch. By chance, my sister mentioned that I should take a picture of the underside of the attic stairs. These pictures are of a bunch of people I don't know, but they are all related to me somehow. Most of them were tacked up on the wall and never taken down. So, when I went back to looked and what did I see...My Dad staring right back at me. Actually, he is watching the road because this was taken while he was driving a car. It has probably been tacked in this spot for over twenty-five years, judging by how young my Dad looks in it.

Now for surprises big. We went down to Hermosa for a late breakfast and saw some crazy waves. Some of them are at least 10 footers. A couple of people walk into the frame to give you an idea of how huge these waves are. Oh, that rumbling sound, that is not the wind.

Oh and one last little surprise. I got an email from Cathy, the owner of Twist (my LYS) asking if I would like to be interviewed by The Beach Reporter. I talked about the shirts I tie-dyed with my daughter and her friend. Also, about how awesome knitting is and that it is no longer a Grandma's sport. I'm curious what two lines out of everything I said is going to pick for the article.

Knits and Knits

I knit this up forever ago. I just finally did the yellow trim. Now I can finally try to sleep in on the weekends. That horrible sun coming in my bedroom window.

Pattern: Sleeping Cutie

Source: Vogue Knitting
Yarn: Baruffa Merinos Otto in Brown and
Crystal Palace Yarns Splash in Lemonade

I finished my brother and nephew's hats. I'm not going to show off the finished product until the gifts are received. You can check them out on my Ravelry though. The Dashings are on there, too. They are all so warm and cozy. I just need to ship them off before summer comes.

I've been doing all of this knitting in the round. I decided that I needed something, anything, just let it be on straight needles. Enter a skinny Clapotis. It's nine stitch markers wide and 16 repeats. A nice long skinny scarf, perfect for me.

Pattern: Clapotis byKate Gilbert

Source: Knitty.com
Yarn: 50/50 Silk Merino by Twist Yarns

Finally, I have half a pair of no purl monkey socks. After going up to the Bay Area with the only pair of knit socks I own, I decided that I needed a lot more socks. My feet were freezing up there. This is a fun and fast knit. I think that I may end up with a few of these in my collection.

Mike's Progress

You remember my BIL Mike? I taught him to knit two weeks before Christmas at Disneyland. Well, I just got this in my inbox keeping me up on his knitting progress. Just listen to him and then look at how impressed I am that he is only on his second and third projects ever. I love the way he talks about kniting and the fact that he is already on multiple WIPs. I just have to keep telling myself that he is going to school to become a physicist.

Mike's email:

My two current projects, started them both a few days ago, yes, your eyes dont decieve you, Im cabling in the second! woot! The first one was my attempt to get better at keeping track of my stitches, becoming more comfortable with counting stitches, reworking, purling, transitioning, and casting on/off mid project ^_^ Its also freeform knitting based very loosely on another project with my own twist.















In the end, I believe I have created a monster.

30 Days Photo Challange

I haven't been too good at blogging, let alone taking my pictures this week. So instead of my seven days worth, I'm going to put up pics from the trip. They are more interesting anyways.

• Haley and Quinn. She couldn't hold him enough. It was really sweet to watch her play with her cousins.

• Here are the seals that we took a walk to go and see. They barked a lot, did nothing exciting, and we left.
• This is the ranch house. It used to be a lot bigger, but in getting renovated only the kitchen and main room were safe enough to keep. Other than that, everything was how I remembered it from my youth.
• This is the very muddy path we took to the turkey coop. We had to roll up our pants and I carried Haley through the spots with standing water.
• Here is the O' Turkey Coop. Obviously no longer in use. I like that it has a General Store sign on it.
• Here are the kids running inside the coop. Can you imagine five rooms like this with nothing but turkeys in it. I imagine that instead of worrying about thawing the Thanksgiving turkey in time, they had to draw straws to pluck the bird.

On another note, I've had to switch my comments to moderation. I will try my best to publish your comments as quickly as possible. I'm sorry and thanks.

My Trip

Here are reasons I went to visit the Bay area. Little red headed Simon and the guy in the BSJ, is Quinn. He's three weeks old in this picture, which also happened to be his due date. He is about as cute as can be. Haley had fun with them, but actually didn't pressure me at all about a little sibling. We spent a lot of time running around the house like three years old, letting the new mom sleep, eating pizza, and tickling. It was a complete blast. While visiting my sister, we didn't really see all the "sites." We did however make our way to the wharf for an ice cream. The kids had fun chasing me around the flower beds. Then we went on a walk to see the seals.
Then we spent time at the family ranch. I honestly don't know who really owns it. I just know if you are in the family, you are more then welcomed to come up for a visit. We were lucky, too! My Great-Uncle Dick was there keeping up his horses. I think I was about 11years old the last time I saw him; and the last time I was at the ranch I was around 10. Our hope is to not go as long for the next visit. Victory and Simon posed on the big tractor. We tried to get Haley to ride a horse, but she decided they weren't quite like the ponies she rides at the fairs. Simon took them up on the ride, though. Then Haley and I walked out to the o' Turkey coop. it was a very muddy walk, but totally worth it. A couple of Uncle Dick's grandkids escorted us. These are Kallan and Griffin. They are actually cousins and I have no idea how exactly they are related. (I need a family tree!!!) They set up a stage in the turkey coop and acted Mr. Bean scenes. Griffin was very polite and offered to let Kallan sit on the sturdy side of the bench, it was a good thing too, cause three seconds after this picture the bench broke. The kids couldn't stop laughing. In all, it was a very nice and fun two days on the bay area. Thanks for letting us wear you out, Vic.

So Much Yarn ... I Need Oxygen

(Warning, this post is extremely late, sorry 'bout that. I actually started writing this while still visiting my sister, but a long drive home and a busy week have delayed me from blogging.)

I wandered into San Fransisco with my sister, two nephews and daughter. Then I dragged them to ImagiKnit. That is where I found this... This is the room that is 50% or more animal fiber. Then there was the room that is 50% or less animal fiber, but mostly fur free. I couldn't hardly believe my eyes. The walls were massive. I'm 5'7" and didn't even bother trying to reach the top shelf. There was so much yarn I didn't even know where to start. That was until I say that they carried Louisa Harding yarns. I've been looking for some to start working on the patterns in her new book.
Everyone in the shop was absolutely wonderful. They helped me find everything that I was looking for, found a copy of my books so I could look up my yarn recommendations, even called another shop that carries something that they don't. They even let me charge my camera battery because I forgot to the night before. I definately recommend checking this place out if you are ever in the area.
The next day we made our way to Article Pract. I just happened to forget to take any pictures at all. It was a bit more like your usually LYS. Very cozy though. I found another Louisa Harding yarn and was set as far as my yarn budget was concerned. It was a fun drive through Berkley over to Oakland to check this place out.

All in all, I walked away with three balls of Louisa Harding Grace in cream, pink and teal. One ball skein of Joseph Galler Inca Cotton. And five balls of Louisa Harding Cinnabar in the "straw" color. Now all I need to do is finish the stuff I am already working on.

30 Days Photo Challange

My sister is doing this 30 days of photos. You are suppose to take one picture everyday and then post it. I started a couple of days late and haven't taken a picture everyday, but here is what I have so far. I warn you, I have no fancy camera, no photoshop, and I am generally not that skilled in taking pictures anyways. The things I do to support my sister.

• Feb. 3 - I figured why not start with a healthy breakfast. Eggs, Strawberries, Heart-shaped Pancakes, Hash Brown and Orange Juice. Yummy! My kid is so spoiled.
• Feb. 4 - A flower. I figured that people love to take pictures of flowers, so I'm getting it out of my system. This happens to be my favorite.
• Feb. 5 - My Kitchen Window. Just because I can.
• Feb. 7 - This one is funny. Here I am on the 405NB somewhere around Sunset Blvd. It's a Friday, 5:20ish, and all the cars are stopped. So, I took a picture of the guy going SB. He is stopped too! He actually waved, but was too quick for the picture. I don't know why he was in a hurry, not like he's going anywhere soon.
• Feb. 8 - Finally, I left LA traffic to hang out in San Francisco traffic. It really is a beautiful world we live in.
• So, that is about as far as I've gotten.